


Gods of Death

by Sicilia



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-09-26 21:48:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9923543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sicilia/pseuds/Sicilia
Summary: This is just a story that came to me in a fleeting thought. Hope you enjoy and stick around for other chapters.





	1. Spare the Scythe, Spoil the Humans

**Author's Note:**

> I will be using references to these sort of beings from all sorts of cultures, and they are in no way meant to state my religious beliefs or offend any of anyone else. This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to real life people or events is strictly coincidental.
> 
> Any constructive is wholly welcomed. Thank you.

A man lay in a hospital bed, the TV faintly playing in the background as he slept. The heartbeat monitor and oxygen pump covered the sound of the door opening lightly and shutting again. A figure moved to stand on the side of the bed and accidently bumped into it, quickly clutching the foot they hit and whispering curses. The man was woken up by this and looked at the figure. “Oh hell. Is it that time?” the figure looked at the man past their hood. “Mae is that you?” he asked. The figure had let go of their foot and removed their hood to reveal a blonde girl. “Yeah, it’s me. And yes, it’s that time Dale.” the man sighed. “Well, at least I got to say goodbye a couple days ago.” Mae offered a sympathetic smile. “Well, let’s get this over with then.” he closed his eyes peacefully. Mae walked to his side, gently placing her palm on his forehead and drawing it back up again to pull out a glowing orb. “May you rest at ease.” she whispered. She placed the orb in the jar as the heart rate monitor flat lined. She pulled her hood back up and slid into the corner as the doctors rushed in. She silently slid past them as they filed in and walked out of the door.

 

Mae sat idly on the bus on her way to school. Luckily her duties were dispersed to the other reapers of her district so she could attend school. Mae was the youngest of their district and they at least cared she got an education. She gazed out the window to look at the street passing by. As the bus crossed an intersection, a car traveling the opposite way of the bus was struck at a high speed. The car was pushed into the bus, causing the bus driver to slam on the brakes and everyone on the bus to jolt forward. Mae smacked her head on a pole that was next to her, immediately grasping her head as she felt a warm sensation in her hair. Before she realized it, her pager was buzzing frantically in her pocket.  _ Today’s my day off!!  _ Mae grumbled to herself as she pulled her hood up to hide her face and she silently pushed the handle to open the bus door and ran out. Luckily the driver didn’t seem to notice in the moment. Looking at the pager, the message displayed the exact street she was on. The next message gave the name and position of the person. Mae hurried around the bus to the car that was struck to see the passenger side had been destroyed entirely. A man’s cries and pleas for help could be heard. People were screaming on the bus, the person in the car that caused the collision had been knocked out. Mae walked to the passenger side of the car silently to see the mangled body of a young girl, one that couldn’t have been much older than her. Mae sighed internally, leaning toward the girl and her hand reaching out to touch her forehead. Suddenly and hand grabbed her wrist and yanked “DON’T TOUCH HER!” a voice screamed. Mae was in utter shock as she stared at the man in the driver seat. His grip on her wrist began to hurt her and she tugged to try and take it back. He wouldn’t let go no matter what she did. Focusing herself, she left her hand become skeletal and the man shrieked and let go. As soon as he did, her hand returned to normal. 

 

“Please, don’t take her. Take me instead. Get her help, I’ll do anything!” the man pleaded. Mae was yet again shocked at his words, but had to hurry as sirens began to sound nearby. She’d heard family members beg to have themselves taken in place of others, but by the looks of these two they were no more than girlfriend and boyfriend. Mae hadn’t gotten another notification of a child in her either. It perplexed her but she simply shook her head. Mae placed her hand softly on the woman’s head as the man sobbed, pulling the orb out of her head. “May you rest at ease.” Mae cupped the orb in her hand, fumbling in her bag for a small jar she always carried on her. “Why can’t you take me!” the man shouted towards her. Mae grew uneasy and quickly rushed back onto the bus and took her seat stealthily and silently waited for police and ambulances to arrive. The throbbing in her head intensified as she wondered why that man was so adamant.

 

Mae sat silently in the car as her dad drove her home from the hospital. He had naturally reacted terribly when he got the call she was in the hospital, but was relieved the injury was minor. A silence hung over them as they drove home until her dad cleared his throat. “The girl in the car.. Did you have to?” he asked awkwardly. He never liked asking about her reaper work, but the curiosity seemed to get the better of him. “Yeah. Luckily my professor gave me a pass because the bus was involved in the accident.” Mae said nonchalantly. She was trying to steer the conversation away from her duties. Her dad was never quite happy when they found out what she had to do. Reapers are made in a womb just like everyone else, and they’re assigned a duty from the day they’re born. According to her mom, she could swear she saw about 10 years age his face the instant they were told. “Well, that’s good. You have a quiz tomorrow right?” he asked “Yeah, but Maria said she took notes already so I’ll just head over once we get home.” “I’ll drop you off, I don’t want you straining too much. The doctor said you’re lucky to not have a concussion.” he said sternly. Mae sighed in defeat. As she stared out the window the man from before’s voice lingered in her mind. There should have been no way for him to see her. Reapers cloak themselves during a retrieval so they can’t be seen by anyone. The only people who would be able to see them at that point is other reapers. Knowing that as a fact, Mae became dangerously curious.

 

Mae sat at her friend's desk and was sloppily scribbling a copy of her friends notes. Her friend, Maria, sat on her bed and played some game on her phone. Maria seemed to give up because she grumbled a couple curse words and the music of the game stopped. The sounds of her liking things on social media suddenly filled the air. A small silence fell and then she gasped. “Mae, you remember that girl Kayla Gartner in high school? We had a history class with her.” she asked. Mae froze in place, knowing exactly what was going to be asked after that. “Yeah, what about her?” she replied normally. “She died in a car accident today. Some idiot t-boned the car she was in with her boyfriend.” Maria explained. “Wait, they say a bus was hit too. That’s your bus! You were there!” she exclaimed. Mae faked shock. “I knew that a car was hit but when the bus jerked I hardly remember what happened.. God I feel so bad..” Mae sighed. If she didn’t have to carry souls to the other side she would be a great actress. “That’s crazy.. They say her boyfriend is in the hospital downtown.” A sad silence hung over them. Mae never realized it was someone she went to school with. It made her feel melancholic, but she quickly stifled the feeling as it only created issues. People are born, and people die; it’s an unavoidable necessity of life.

 

Late that night, Mae found herself in the hospital yet again. It wasn’t for herself this time though. Two people were meant to pass tonight and she volunteered to pick them up. She had already gotten the first person, and elderly woman who had congestive heart failure. Sometimes learning the technical terms interests Mae. The next person was a man with something wrong with his liver. The technical term for it didn’t stick in Mae’s brain, all she remembered was the nurses chatting about him seeming to have drank a  _ lot _ . The elevator dinged to the floor the man was on. Mae stepped off, brushing past the person standing waiting for the very same elevator and they jumped lightly; Mae’s hood remained up so they wouldn’t have seen her but they definitely felt her. Mae checked the pager again for the room number and looked for a sign on the wall. After a bit of wandering, she found the man’s room. She pressed her ear up to the glass door and could hear snoring over a heart-rate monitor. She lightly rolled her eyes and grasped the door to slide it open quietly. Once inside, she could see it was a large room, with probably another person inside. They had the curtains closed thought so she couldn’t tell. Mae took silent steps towards the man’s bed, and it slowly became clear he was the source of the snoring. He didn’t look well at all. Mae was about to place her hand on his forehead when a hand reached out and grabbed her other wrist. Her heart flopped, the shock nearly making her shriek. She quickly looked to see it was the man from the car accident. He was leaning out of his bed and had pushed the curtain back. The look he gave her was kind of blank. “What’re you doing to him?” he asked in a voice entirely too loud for what time of the night it was. Mae panicked, not knowing what to do. Fully cloaked, there should have absolutely been no way this man could have seen her. “You.. can see me?” the words she whispered just fell out of her mouth. The man looked at his hand, still holding her wrist, as if to say ‘Well I wouldn’t be doing this if I couldn’t’

  
Mae’s brain was running at 100 miles a minute but was also at a standstill. She looked at the man who was still somehow sleeping, then back to the man holding onto her. “Are you like, the grim reaper? Death incarnate?” he asked in a sort of condescending tone. “You had that skeleton hand before. Where did it go?” he kept prying. From the way his eyes were drooping, he seemed to be on painkillers. Mae found her way out. “Listen, if you let go and close the curtain so I can do my job, I’ll tell you everything you wanna know.” she lied flawlessly. “Will you give me back Kayla?” he asked. Mae tensed slightly. The tone of his voice hit a chord in her heart. “We can talk about that. Now please, if you would.” she said softly. He hesitated, but let her wrist go and closed the curtain. Mae quickly pressed her palm against the man’s forehead, extracting the orb and putting it into a jar she pulled out of her purse. The heart rate monitor flat lined, and Mae stepped into a corner yet again. Once the doctors rushed in, Mae rushed out. It seemed the man had been watching her the whole time as when she ran out, she heard him scream “HEY! COME BACK, GRIM REAPER!” desperately. Mae chuckled as the hospital staff would probably freak out at that proclaimation.


	2. Meeting is the beginning of parting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I will be using references to these sort of beings from all sorts of cultures, and they are in no way meant to state my religious beliefs or offend any of anyone else. This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to real life people or events is strictly coincidental.
> 
> Any constructive is wholly welcomed. Thank you.

Months had passed since Mae had encountered the strange man. She attended school as normal and carried souls as usual. Mae was most definitely in a routine she hated falling out of. Her parents and fellow reapers would chastise her for not enjoying life while young. Mae would ignore them, knowing that no matter how much she enjoyed her time, it would inevitably end. Even reapers die, just like Dale. Mae walked down the road to her house, a light breeze ruffled her hair. Her phone buzzed and she checked it to see Maria had texted her. “Some dude called my house asking for you. Do you know a Luke?” she typed out. Mae furrowed her brow and unlocked her phone to reply with “No. That’s creepy whoever it is would call your place.” Mae walked up her driveway and opened the door. The TV played in the background as she set her backpack down. “Oh honey, you got a few voicemails today from a boy.” her mom called from the kitchen. Mae grew more confused. No one called her home phone, especially not boys. Hell, guys don’t even call her cell phone; She doesn’t talk to anyone except Maria. Mae grabbed the phone and took it into her room as she dialed the pin into the phone for the voicemail. “You have 3 new voicemails. Message 1.” the robot recited. “Hello, this message is for Mae Hartlowe. My name is Luke Torte and I wanted to talk about the assignment we have with Kayla.” Mae’s heart sunk. Her eyes almost bulged out of her head. How did he find me.. She hadn’t even recognized the voice until he said her name. What bothered her more is that he seemed to know to talk nonchalantly like they both has a secret. The thought alone that she would share something secret with him made her feel disgusting. She hung up the phone quickly and threw it onto the floor. Don’t answer. _He’ll think it’s the wrong number.._ Mae got slightly angry. How did he find her home number in the first place?! She ran downstairs to see her dad sitting in his recliner. “Dad is our house number in the phone book?” she asked as calmly as she could. “Uhh, yeah I think so. Why?” he asked halfheartedly. “Oh it’s just-” the phone rang and cut Mae off. Time seemed to have frozen as Mae turned to her mother in the kitchen, who was heading towards their other phone. Mae tried to calmly run in there without tipping her parents off, but was milliseconds late as she heard her mom pick up and say “Hartlowe residence, this is Kathy.” Mae’s mind was screaming. Her mother looked at her as she stood staring in the doorway. “Yes, she’s right he-” Mae waved her hands like a madwoman, mouthing the words ‘Not here’ over and over. Her mother gave her a quizzical look and finished with “Sorry, she’s actually not home right now. Can I take a message?” her mother went on. Mae relaxed a bit but still remained on edge, since the guy now knows he does have the right number.

As her mom hung up, Mae spaced out staring at the floor. “Hun why did you want me to say you weren’t here?” she pried. Mae was quite honestly at a loss for words. “He mentioned something about doing an assignment with a girl named Kayla?” Mae’s body only stiffened. _I can’t bring her back goddamnit, leave me alone!_ If only he could hear the names she called him in her head. Mae tried her best to shake off her mixture of emotions and looked at her mom. “He’s just a big perfectionist and wants to make sure the paper is flawless. Kayla and I have been ignoring him for a couple days now because he never lets up.” Mae effortlessly lied. “Oh.” her mother simply replied. She seemed to buy the lie so Mae casually walked back into her room and shut the door. She slid down onto the ground, clutching her knees. She knew that in moments like this, she should be calling her higher ups, but then she’d get torn up for being seen. This dumb man was driving her up a wall by simply existing, and now he decides to call her home. Mae stared at her wall for a brief moment, considering what she should do. Her cell phone started buzzing and a strange number showed up on the caller ID. The area code was nearby, and her district mates often called from strange numbers so she instinctively answered “Hello?” “Mae Hartlowe.” a man’s voice said. The now too familiar voice caused Mae to drop her phone. Mae could hear him talking still. “Your friend gave me your number. I’d like to talk to you.” Mae backed away from the phone, thinking it would somehow reach out and get her. “I work at Ron’s pub, off 41st street. Come by whenever you can.” he hung up immediately after.

Days had passed since this incident. Every ringtone and notification tone made Mae jump. Every night, he would text her. It seemed like he was texting her his hours, so she knew when he would be at the pub. It was very unsettling at first, but at least he had stopped calling her house. It was about two weeks after he started and Mae’s patience began to run thin. One night she stood outside the pub itself, cloaked so she could stare at it without anyone seeing. She hadn’t gone in, but from the outside she could confirm he definitely did work there. The only reason her gaze on it had broken was because it seemed he made eye contact. As soon as that happened, she bolted away. Mae sat on the bus, nervously shaking her leg. The woman next to her gave her a stink eye but she didn’t care. She gazed out the window to see the bus was near the stop about 2 blocks from the pub. As she debated whether or not to go, her phone buzzed. It was Luke, and it said “6:30 to 12:30.” Mae checked the time and it was 6:15. The bus came to a halt at the stop finally. Mae dozed off, her mind racing. She fought herself internally. But the curiosity got the better of her as she hopped up and got off the bus. She looked both ways quickly and ran across the street towards the pub. She dialed her home phones number and her mom answered after only two rings. “Hey mom, I’m gonna finish up this project with Luke and Kayla. I’ll be home a little late.” she said. The facade of the project gave her a lot of leeway that she was grateful for. Once she hung up she made a quick glance around to see that no one was looking her way, she pulled her hood up and cloaked herself.

Mae waited at the back of the pub. It seemed like employees came through this door, as the man she stood next to was wearing a t-shirt with the pubs name on it and smoking a cigarette. Mae never used her cloaking aside from doing her work so standing next to this guy knowing he couldn’t see her made her feel like she was invading his privacy. She shifted uncomfortably and checked her phone. 6:29. She peered around and suddenly saw Luke walking towards where she stood. She stood up straight and faced him, her face revealing her slight annoyance. His gaze looked up and his eyes locked on hers, widening slightly. His mouth opened and Mae quickly put a finger up to her lips to keep him from saying anything and tilted her head towards the guy smoking. Luke looked down as he opened up the backdoor, trying to make it nonchalant that he held it open for a bit as Mae slipped past in the door before him. The door closed behind him with a heavy _thud_. The two stood in a rather small room, not saying a word. Mae decided to break the silence, “I would greatly appreciate if you would leave me be. I don’t take what I do for any sort of fun or pleasure. It’s a task I’m assigned, to make sure everyone get safely to the-” Luke suddenly embraced her. Mae’s face flushed rapidly, her body going rigid. Instinctively she released herself into skeletal form and slipped out of his arms and into a corner. “Don’t… Don’t touch me please.” she stammered as she returned to her normal self “I wanted to thank you. For taking her peacefully into the other world. Wherever that may be.” he smiled sadly. Mae was slightly taken aback. “You… aren’t gonna ask me to bring her back?” she stammered. She wasn’t used to to talking to a normal person about her reaper things, so she wasn’t sure how to say things. “I know in the moment I begged for it but… I know that’s not how things work. I was glad she was taken gently by someone she knew.” he sighed. Mae looked at him and he pulled out a yearbook out of his bag. It was the high school she had attended. Luke silently flipped to the page Kayla was on, and then to the page Mae was on. “Oh so that’s how you found me.” she cleared her throat lightly. “Well um, I’ve glad we cleared this up then. Have a good life.” Mae kicked herself mentally for saying that but awkwardly shuffled out of the small room and out the back door to the surprise of the man who was just about to walk in.


End file.
